Internet Explorer question: serious lag

While I'm fairly computer literate/ competent, I can't figure this out. Whenever I use explorer to surf the web lately, it's really laggy; i.e. scroll bars are really choppy and slow, text lags way behind my typing, and other stupid little things like that. My actual connection is fine, everything downloads and uploads no problem. I also have no problems with any other software. I've tried reinstalling the browser, no luck. (I'm running IE 6 with windows 98se, btw) So, anybody have any ideas? This is driving me insane and I'd much rather be learning that concerto than dorkin' around with this computer...

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sorry, should've mentioned in my first post; I've run a virus scan, plus scans for browser hijacks, spyware and other junk so I'm fairly certain it isn't anything like that. I could be wrong I guess, but I really woudn't know what else to do...

If I read right, it sounds like processor lag you're experiencing only when browsing. It usually happens when there are too many things running in the background.

I'd probably attack that by opening a browser and get the symptom happening, then hit Ctrl/Alt/Dlt once to open the task manager and see what processes are running. If you have nothing else open, it should read:
Explorer
Systray
Internet Explorer
<insert your antivirus program here>

If there are other processes running, you can select them one at a time, choose End Task, then test your browser to see which one was the culprit. It's best to write all the extra ones down, and do a search on your computer to find out what they are afterwards. Often times the names aren't self-explanatory.

Alot of programs run in the background unnecessarily. Typical examples would be players like Realplayer or Winamp, or instant message progs. If you've installed anything new, that may provide a clue.

A standard efficiency builder for any windows system is to control what occurs when you start up. To do this, go Start button/Run, and type in msconfig. The dialogue box that pops up will have a Start Up tab, choose it. Look down the list and uncheck anything that is not Explorer, Systray, or your antivirus prog. This can be tricky because of the vague naming issue, so Search when in doubt.

Assuming by what you've said that you've already run Adaware or similar to scan for spyware, I would still go to the Temporary Internet Files folder and delete all cookies. Some are now smart enough to get around a scan, but still pass info out to the net as you type, sweet eh? So kill 'em all. The next time you come to Talkbass, you'll need to log in to set a fresh cookie.

It's also important to update Adaware each time before running it, they always have some new definitions waiting for me when I do that. Gotta keep up with these ad-pumping hackers and programmers.

A good hedge against spyware is to run a software firewall like zonealarm or Sygate, because they prompt you whenever a new program tries to access the net, and gives you the option to let them access once, forever, or not at all. They're both freebies, you can google your way to them easy.

If that stuff above doesn't do it, look at your hardware, mainly disc space left to make sure your harddrive isn't so crowded the thing can't run well. If it's down to lets say less than 500 mb free space, it's time to clean out things like useless pictures and documents you'll never touch again, uninstall games and such that aren't being used anymore (Start/Settings/Control Panel/Uninstall Programs), and dump all those old emails.

If it's been a long time since you've run Defrag (Start/Programs/Accessories/System Tools/Defragmentor) then now's a good time. Start it before you go to bed, 'cause it takes hours. Defrag takes your files that are scattered all over the drive and groups them close to related items, making the disc more efficient and faster. It also cleans out files that show errors.

Wow, that was an awesome post John! Unfortunately, I've already done everything you listed... thats what is driving me nuts about this thing; I've tried everything! Another thing I should've mentioned earlier is that this is strictly an internet explorer problem; everything else on the computer works perfectly. That leads me to think the problem is with the exporer software itself or it's configuration somehow, which is why I reinstalled it, But that didn't do any good.

Originally posted by John Sprague I'd probably attack that by opening a browser and get the symptom happening, then hit Ctrl/Alt/Dlt once to open the task manager and see what processes are running. If you have nothing else open, it should read:
Explorer
Systray
Internet Explorer
<insert your antivirus program here>

If there are other processes running, you can select them one at a time, choose End Task, then test your browser to see which one was the culprit. It's best to write all the extra ones down, and do a search on your computer to find out what they are afterwards. Often times the names aren't self-explanatory.

Thanks for the replies guys, but like I said above; I've allready tried all this stuff. I don't have anything running in the background, I have free disk space, no cookies, everything... An interesting note though, some webpages don't lag while others do. For example, all of the talkbass pages lag. The page linked in the post above this one does not. Wierd, eh? oh and lerm, tell me more about the font smoothing. I'm running IE6 with win98se.

I guess I would narrow it down further then by installing another browser like Mozilla, you may even become a convert to mozilla because it has some nice features. Then compare the problem sites between browsers, which will confirm if it is or isn't a browser issue. If it is a browser issue, then I would probably due a complete uninstall of IE6 before installing a fresh-off-the-server copy. Save your faves folder somewhere first though.

I'm assuming that's a brandy-new freshly downloaded version of IE6 you reinstalled?

The Windows Update site can be pretty useful as well for smoothing things out, and is generally a good idea to check out now and again anyhow, since most updates are security related. I believe there are two service packs (big-ass updates) for Win98se.

Yes, the IE6 I reinstalled was freshly downloaded and I'm all updated. I guess I am going to have to install I different browser and try that; see if it does the same thing. As for my computer specs, you guys are all going to laugh at me, but this thing just won't die and does about 75 percent of what I'd like to do, so I can't justify buying a new computer yet. :-D (I'm just waiting for an excuse to buy a g4 ibook though) It's a fairly old school compaq, 350mhz K6-2, 128 mb RAM, with two seagate baracuda HDDs, one ten gig and one forty gig. I have cable internet running through a linksys ethernet card. Dunno if that helps, but what the heck... thanks for the help!